Mike Bianco opens up about what worked for Ole Miss against Arkansas

With a 13-5 victory in the quarterfinals, Mike Bianco’s Ole Miss Rebels are a win away from the College World Series Final. At this point in the season, a lot of pieces need to move into place to pick up wins. For Bianco, he saw all those things come together in their victory over Arkansas.

Although they suffered some self inflicted wounds early, he says it all started off because of pitcher Hunter Elliott

“We were terrific tonight. Just really played well and it starts on the mound. And Hunter was just like he’s pitched the second half of the season,” said Bianco. “Unfortunately, for him, we didn’t play great defense early. Not taking anything away from Arkansas, but he shouldn’t have given up a run today.”

Bianco continued to praise his freshman on the mound after the victory. Elliott and his 2.70 ERA handled business again as he helped hold Arkansas to six scoreless innings. His head coach says when you see him play, you don’t see a freshman.

“I think what people haven’t seen before or haven’t seen, if you haven’t seen Hunter before, is you saw why he’s so good,” said Bianco. “Here’s a freshman on the biggest stage in amateur baseball and he didn’t let it affect him. He just continued to pitch and work and grind.”

While their defense held off the Razorbacks, Ole Miss’ offense closed the door. The bats stayed hot as the Rebels put up 13 hits as well as a pair of home runs. With so many strong performances, Bianco listed multiple players from the lineup who played a part in keeping them undefeated in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

“Offensively we were really, really good. Mike Clement and the offense, just a great approach. And got some huge hits. I thought we got some big walks. So many guys had huge days,” Bianco said. “Of course, Calvin (Harris) and Justin (Bench). (Tim) Elko had a huge home run, one of the longest balls I’ve ever seen hit here. I thought (Kevin) Graham had a good day as well, a couple of base hits a couple of really good ABs. Just a really good night for us.

Now, Mike Bianco’s group will await the winner of today’s elimination game between Arkansas and Auburn. They handled both teams in this tournament by a combined score of 18-6. Regardless of who staves off elimination, Ole Miss will need just one win against them to advance to the CWS Finals. Their first of two opportunities will come on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.